Create a Clean Water Future

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) is enlisting the support of area organizations in a program to raise awareness about storm water runoff and the pollution it carries. Titled the Create a Clean Water Future Campaign, and powered by a free online tool, the program will equip local government agencies, businesses and grassroots groups with easily implemented tips to help protect Alabama and its waters.

Interested businesses are invited to visit www.cleanwaterfuture.com to access resources and educational videos that suggest simple tips (such as using biodegradable cups) that can be easily achieved in the workplace. They are asked to use the campaign’s official logo in their own media and publications to show they are on board with the initiative.

While there is no formal method of accountability or incentive to participate, NEP’s Resource Development Manager Rick Frederick said companies will be acknowledged on social media for signing up. “This is about educating businesses and equipping them with the information they need to help do their part toward reducing storm water pollution. Our goal is to make this information readily available to easily implement, with the hope that it will naturally trickle down to individual citizens as well.”

In existence for 19 years, the NEP is funded by the U.S. EPA, the State of Alabama, local governments and private interests, and is one of 28 “nationally significant estuaries” in the United States. The NEP is currently implementing five watershed restoration projects and will be initiating three more (at Wolf Bay, Tensaw Apalachee, and a TBD site) later this year. Frederick said many PEP members are already getting involved in coastal restoration through watershed planning and restoration projects and are coming together to learn from each other through sharing best practices and challenges.

Twenty partner organizations, including PEP, are involved in the development, ongoing outreach and implementation of the Create a Clean Water Future campaign. If your organization is interested in participating in the campaign and for more information, visit www.cleanwaterfuture.com.